Where’s @LIVESTRONG?
Not often do I get the pleasure of venturing outside of the office, but the past two days I have been lucky enough to be in one of the finest cities in the US, Phily! Today I went to The Comcast New Media Exchange a conference to help organizations learn how to dive into the pool of online-ness. Met some great folks from organizations including Safe Kids (shout out to Mitch Stoller’s crew), Girls Inc, Big Brothers, Big Sisters to name a few. Somehow, I was asked to sit on a panel about blogging. It’s weird, I guess, because I honestly feel like I’m just a baby in the online world. My background is in sociology, not in technology, but my passion is in LIVESTRONG and in advocating for and support cancer survivors. It was an honor, for sure.

Why I love our supporters:
I love our online community for a few reasons. People REALLY support each other. Total strangers from all over the world offer words of encouragement and strength to others affected by cancer in our forums. I list the fostering of this community as one of my greatest professional accomplishments ever. If you haven’t seen our Facebook page, check it out. Not to be overly dramatic, but I honestly am in awe of the love on that page. Survivors who have never shared their stories finally feel comfortable opening up. People that have shared their stories a thousand times are able to share their courage. It’s a beautiful thing to witness and it’s all happening naturally.

Words of wisdom from a social media toddler:
Someone asked “What is the most important thing you can impart on a nonprofit today?” Hands down its to know that you can’t break the internet! Dive in head first. See what happens. Give up some of that control that nonprofits are infamous for. Let people interact with each other in your space without hovering too much. Foster that community. You can always change your direction or try something new. It’s a giant experiment.

No one is a social media expert:
There are a lot of experts out there. In fact, one of the panel presenters stated that 60,000 people note themselves as a social media expert on Twitter alone! Some are really smart folks with proven track records of success and some are just stabbing in the dark like the rest of us. I guess it’s the same in academia. Sometimes people try to make sure they have the most letters behind their name, but does a PHD mean that you are smarter than someone with a BA or does it just mean you went to school longer? Don’t let the buzz words get you down. In fact, make up your own! It’s funny to watch people decipher what random acronyms. Go out, explore the net. This advice is coming, not from an expert, but from someone lucky enough to “hang out” with cool people online and talk shop about LIVESTRONG.

Now, go out and buy my book. (Just Kidding)